What can you tell me about Wallace and surrounding area? (Coeur d'Alene: house, movies)

[Adrian71]

We are in the very preliminary stages of exploring Idaho to relocate to, possibly in the spring or summer of 2019. We've been through the panhandle twice and simply love it up there. A few months ago we went to Wallace and Osburn, and it reinforced in our minds that this may be a place we want to live. I was hoping I could get some feedback about life in the panhandle, particularly around Wallace, but we'd consider any part of the region.

A little bit about us. We're currently in metro Seattle, but we're Michigan natives. I'm used to long, cold, snowy winters, so that's not going to be an issue. Politically we're neither left nor right, but we're nowhere near as "left" as the Seattle area. Bottom line, we just want to be left alone, without an overbearing nanny state dictating what's best for our lives. Part of that decision has to do with homeschooling laws, which I know are much less stringent in Idaho. Our daughter will be 8 next August and will have to start meeting Washington state requirements, but we'd rather have her learn at her own pace than having to meet someone else's arbitrary standards.

We're both in our 40s and don't care about the nightlife scene or anything like that. We're homebodies. It's nice to have some amenities (shopping, movies, etc.) within a reasonable drive when we want it, but we don't have any need to be right in the middle of a big population center. For context, I grew up in a small and fairly conservative town of about 1,000 people. Chicago was my nearest big city, about an hour and a half away.

Work is hopefully not going to be a concern. I work from home as a freelance editor, so my job can travel with me wherever we go. Our hope is that we can sell our house here and pay cash for one in Idaho with the equity, so all we'd have to worry about is paying off our unsecured debt and meeting regular living expenses, which we can hopefully do on one income because my wife wants to stay home and get off the career treadmill.

I guess my only real concern is that my health isn't great, so winter maintenance like shoveling may be something I'd have to hire out. I'd also have to have good doctors and a hospital nearby.

I'd love it if anyone from the area, or who's familiar with it, could share their experiences and opinions. Thank you.

[NW Crow]

//www.city-data.com/forum/searc...rchid=34599857 15 threads with Wallace in title. Redo search if my link expires before you see it. 200 posts with Wallace in text.

[banjomike]

If your health isn't so great, Wallace may not be the best place for you. It still has some superfund site problems, though the worst has been cleaned up. At least as good as possible.

Take Crow's advice and read through all the old threads. You will learn the full story in them.

[Adrian71]

Thanks for the Superfund information, banjomike. I've read a little bit about it, and I don't think it would be a problem. I'll plan to look further into it.

I'd already done a forum search and saw that there weren't too many recent discussions on the area, aside from CDA. We had a good talk with a guy who lived in Osburn when we were out there, and I was more interested in getting some further up-to-date feedback, not just on Wallace but the surrounding region as well. Just kinda curious in general what everyday life is like in the panhandle for the people who live there. Trends, challenges, likes, dislikes, anything like that.

[509]

usbackroads™: Wallace, Silver Valley, Idaho

usbackroads™: Lower Coeur d'Alene River, Idaho

usbackroads™: North Fork Coeur d'Alene River, Shoshone County, Idaho

Wallace gets snow. It is also between two mountain passes that are "interesting' to drive in winter. Either direction in winter and you will be driving one or the other.

[Adrian71]

Cool blog -- thanks for the links.

Snow doesn't bother me. Do the passes often close? Out here in western WA, Snoqualmie Pass seems to get shut down at least a few times every winter.

[509]

In Idaho, the roads never closed. It is not a nanny state.

Things are changing, though, I do believe I heard that they closed Lookout once or twice since I lived there.

Both Lookout and 4th of July are worse than any of the passes in Washington. I did know people that commuted from Pinehurst to CDA so it can't be that bad....but I hated driving 4th of July Pass.

In winter, I think I would rather drive to Missoula than Spokane. It is 45 minutes longer to Missoula. Two hours to Missoula.

[jdoll88]

didn't know snoqualmie closed but figured it might going through donner pass in california it often closed been doing that one for 20 years. Now as for idaho not closing things I have seen whitebird I believe its called close before when I have gone through-just me and the plows

[banjomike]

Snowqualmie is very prone to avalanche. The pass always gets a lot of wet snow in the winters. Snow moisture creates internal zones in the snow that are like slippery skids after the snow freezes hard. The fresh snow tends to slide after it builds up.

Snowqualmie is similar to Donner- those coastal mountain ranges all get big snowfall due to the wet Pacific winds. The mountains tend to pull the moisture out of the air on their west, coastal side, and the winds carry less moisture as the progress eastward into Idaho, giving us our powder snow. It's called "the rain shadow", as I recall.

None of the Idaho passes routinely get snow that's so wet. But our passes do close down during and after big storms.

Our snow is typically much drier, but it still builds up and becomes impassible in a big blizzard. And there are some passes in Idaho that are prone to avalanche.

The safest thing is to avoid taking any road conditions for granted in the winter.
One pass here can be clear and dry, while the next one up the road can be closed or barely passable. The State Police have a road condition phone number (and a website) that is continually up-dated, and it's the best source to check before setting out on a trip that will include a pass.

Be prepared. When it gets bad here, winter can be very bad indeed, and you don't want to be stuck 30 miles away from nowhere in it.

[Syringaloid]

Avalanche Alley on Highway 21 between Lowman and Stanley is closed quite often during the winter.